Home again!

Where did I leave off?

Oh yeah, Indianapolis. In the rain. Somewhere in Cincinatti my boots started leaking, then holding water. Why can't it leak OUT too?

About 20 minutes before I got to Crawfordsville it stopped raining and I managed to dry out a little.

The final day took me from Crawfordsville to home. In Illinois there were lots of wildflowers along the interstate, you can see that in the photo above. Otherwise the trip to New Glarus was uneventful.

Ah, but New Glarus! Always a good place to stop for a beer. Or a six pack. And four more. And a specialty. The new brewery is located on the south side of town and I stopped in to buy a few bottles for enjoyment at home. Lunch (Wienerschitzel sandwhich and a Hop Hearty IPA) was had at the Glarner Stube. But to the north, the sky looked ominous:


But ride through I did, and it wasn't bad. The 'stich kept me dry. I wish the Joe Rocket gloves (DryTech) and Alpinestars boots (Goretex) worked as well (the boots were still wet from yesterday).

The southeastern Wisconsin terrain is called the 'driftless' area as there were no glaciers there to scrub it flat. Instead, that's where the glaciers drained through when they melted. There are interesting rock formations, lots of bluffs and many river valleys. To top it off, Wisconsin has done an admirable job of building high-quality roads there. It all adds up to a motorcyclist playground. On this particular day I explored P, 33, and 162 and can recommend all of them.

Near La Crosse I stopped at a rest area and was greeted by an old guy who mumbled something about having a 2004 FJR1300.

"Which year is this?" he asked.

"2006... aren't the 2004's silver?" I responded.

"Yeah. They fixed the heat issue on the 2006's." and then he pointed out the cooling vents in the front. "Which tires do you have?"

"Those are the Michelin Pilot Ro.." I started to respond. But before I could finish, he said:

"I have the Storms. How do you like those?"

"I've tried the Storms, and they are good, but the Michelins..."

He butts in "Where are you going?" then, before I can answer, he turns around, gets in his truck and drives off. I guess I just wasn't interesting enough to hold his attention. Oh well.

Before long I was rolling into my garage, then enjoying a strawberry shortcake with Jennifer.

Next trip: August 1st!

After lunch ...rain.

After lunch it started to rain and it continued until i was just past Indianapolis. That means i got to experience Cincinatti rush hour in the rain too. Bleh. That's all the excitement for today .. More tomorrow!

Natural Bridge... Again!

For the third time this year i got to ride through Kentucky's Natural bridge and adjacent roads. This time i was smart enough to remove my sunglasses before entering the tunnel. But then the ear holder thingy broke. Argh! Not cheap... These are prescription lenses. I'll have to find some tape... Then solder then when i get home.

So it's lunch again in Stanton, at the mexican restaurant as last time. Hey, if the food is good....

Kentucky Hwy 32

This is a great road. From 23 south of Ashland KY west to highway 7 near Bell City, it has about 50 miles of tight turns and gentle sweepers.

Bartow, WV

So far today the ride has been uneventful. My dad pointed out one of my taillights were out, so got a new one at a gas station. Then rode to Staunton on 64 then got on 250 west for sixty miles. The pavement was patchy but smooth throgh Virginia except for one section which was gravel for two miles. As usual, the scenery and curves were plentiful. And virtually no traffic.

When i crossed over to West Virginia the pavement improved dramatically. And the curves kept comming, turning fast sweepers.

Lunch (well, pancakes) and gas was purchased, and my next stop will be the radio observatory.

This time through WV I took the time to stop at the radio observatory. The nerd in me enjoyed it ;-) Talked to a couple from Massachusetts on a 2006 FJR for a bit too .. we're both on the FJR Forum but didn't know each other's persona's. Oh well .. at least we had the same tires.


Yeah ok that was staged.

Anyway, the roads were pretty dang good, but once south of 219 the traffic picked up again.

Tomorrow: Kentucky again!

Virginia and Washington DC

Ah ... Virginia!

While here we drank beer (Starr Hill and South Street breweries), went hiking to the Humpback Rocks, drank more beer, built a deck for my uncle, drank beer, worked a couple days in Richmond, drank beer, and visited Washington DC.


Today it's back on the road through West Virginia. Hopefully I'll get a chance to stop at the Green Bank radio telescope in West Virginia. The goal for the day is Huntington, WV.

Wild and Wonderful [and remote] West Virgina!

There is no doubt that West Virginia has a bazillion awesome roads! In May we rode through many of them with the ST1100 group on our way to FriendSTOC (http://friendstoc.org/) and today I am going to re-ride some of those roads.

Since my dad had difficulty walking, I spent the morning helping them prepare the RV for travel. Once again it was a late start - 1130am. They were going to ride along the interstates all the way to Palmyra, VA while I took the "short cut" directly west over the WV mountains.

After a short stint on 64E to Charleston I left civilization behind and chased the sound of banjos. Quick Road and Dutch Hollow provided me with an hour of dodging potholes, mud slides, ATV's, etc. I can't recommend this route. Eventually I ended up Hwy 16 and had lunch in Clay. Two pancakes and a side of bacon plus a VERY generous tip cost less than $5. But it was like stepping back in time 50 years - it was an old diner, everyone paid cash, there was no cell service.

From that point on, a nearly abandoned but very twisty Dundon Widen Road led me to Birch River Road then Hwy 20. I picked up the FriendSTOC route in Cowen, continued on Hwy 15, 219, 250 to Staunton to Palmyra.

And next week I get to do it all over again!

(but with more worn tires).

Oh yeah ... Beerun in Charlottesville ... GREAT selection!

Of Bourbon, Natural Bridges, and socialized medicine

Leaving Louisville on Thursday morning was easy. I was borrowing my brother's Joe Rocket mesh jacket and vented leather pants, which I had given him a few years ago. Anything is better than the 'stich in the Kentucky heat and humidity!

I rolled out of the KOA at about 11am and was thinking I'd take a tour of the Maker's Mark distillery but decided on the much closer Four Roses instead. it was interesting (and the Small Batch was my favorite). Then it was back on I-64 through Lexington, then south through the Natural Bridge area.

We had ridden this earlier in the spring in the rain, and today it was bright and sunny. The roads were excellent - Hwy 213 and 52 in particular. Nice lunch at a small mexican diner, I was the only customer. My radar went up when the proprietor started asking if I was traveling alone ... I said yes, paid, and left.

There was very little traffic until 5pm, when most folks get out of work. That's when the cars started comming into my lanes in the corners, and I headed back up to the interstate to get to the KOA in Milton, WV.

Turns out my parents had a flat tire on the camper two miles before the KOA. After he got the tire off, the state patrol drove him to a local tire place, waited while they put on a new one, and drove him back to the camper. His only comment was how fast the trooper drove, and how he planned to write a letter to the state patrol to tell them how good thier service was.

Unfortunately he re-injured his back changing the tire. A few years ago he experienced a sciatic nerve injury which it took the Norwegian government 5 months to repair with surgery. Then he was OK for about six months, and for the past year he has been having pain in his legs and back while waiting for another operation. Working on the tire caused the pain to amplify. If the Norwegian health care system had addressed the problem in the past year instead of putting him on waiting lists, he wouldn't be spending his vacation in bed in the camper on oxycodone.

Anyway .. back at the KOA we played cards and drank beer and prepared the next day of riding: West Virginia! The world's largest trailer park!

From MN to KY

On July 8th I rode from Red Wing to a KOA in Louisville, KY.

705 miles of "yay."

At least I avoided Chicago.